Cuyahoga County Republican Party likely to endorse State Rep. Tom Patton in Ohio's 16th District congressional race

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cuyahoga County Republican Party appears poised to endorse State Rep. Tom Patton in the hotly contested 16th District congressional race, assuming it follows the recent recommendation from a party candidate screening committee.

The county party's central committee will meet Thursday to vote on the recommendation, which typically translates into an endorsement. Other Republicans running for the seat include Anthony Gonzalez, the former Ohio State University football star, and Stark County State Rep. Christina Hagan. On Wednesday, Tom Zawistowski, a Tea Party activist from Portage County, said he also is considering running. The seat is being vacated by Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, who is running for governor instead.

While it's normal for the county party to issue endorsements, the prospect of doing so seven months before the May primary, and four months before the candidate filing deadline, has drawn grumbling from the other candidates and some party activists. An endorsement allows the county party to support candidates through mailings, phone banking, volunteers, voter targeting data and other forms of campaign help.

The move comes at the request of Patton's campaign, which has close ties to the county GOP. The campaign likely is trying to particularly head off support for Gonzalez, a first-time candidate who attended high school in Cleveland, grew up in nearby Lorain County and recently moved back to the county from California. Patton, who lives in Strongsville, is a longtime elected official who has served in the state legislature since 2003.

"We asked for an endorsement because Rep. Patton has been a lifelong resident of Cuyahoga County, and a steadfast member of the RPCC for the last 15 years, both as an elected official and a precinct committeeman," said Chris Galloway, who is managing Patton's campaign.

In an interview, Hagan compared her experience of interviewing with the party's candidate screening committee to "interviewing for a job that's already been filled."

"But I went in optimistically with my record as the proof of validity for my candidacy," Hagan said. "I think we changed a lot of hearts and minds in that meeting."

Gonzalez has "never backed down from a challenge," his campaign manager, Tim Lolli, said in a text message.

"Knowing the party insiders have to cut a backroom deal to endorse your opponent seven months before the election proves that we are doing something right, and only adds fuel to our drive to outwork everyone else in this campaign," Lolli said.

County Party Chair Rob Frost acknowledged the criticism, but said retaining Renacci's seat in Republican control is a top priority, and that an early endorsement helps discourage a costly primary fight. There is a recent precedent for an early endorsement -- the party in July endorsed Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel in his bid for the U.S. Senate over Mike Gibbons, an investment banker, county resident and longtime GOP donor.

"But mostly, it's intended to get as much support behind the strongest candidate early on, and help them hold the seat against Democratic opposition come November 2018," Frost said.

Ralph King, an outspoken county GOP committee member and Tea Party activist, said the endorsement is an example of the "swamp-type politics" that President Donald Trump ran against.

"To put an endorsement out in October for a race with a February [candidate filing] deadline screams of swamp politics," King said. "It screams of picking and choosing winners and trying to clear the field."

The unusually shaped 16th District, which is considered a safe Republican seat, includes all of Wayne County, and portions of several others, stretching from rural suburbs of Akron and Canton, and up to Cuyahoga County's western suburbs.

The county party on Thursday also is expected to endorse U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce in the 14th congressional district against Matt Lynch, a former state representative who lost to Joyce in 2014 and 2016. The 14th district includes Geauga, Lake and Ashtabula counties, as well as parts of Cuyahoga, Summit, Portage and Trumbull counties.